Arlo cameras keep disconnecting.

[gnarkilljboy]

Bought these last year, after my car was broken into. Wish I would have returned them. Went away for a family vacation, and set one camera at the front door, and one at the back. Both cameras lost connection shortly after we left. When this happens, I have to manually sync them back up to the The base, which means taking them down, and bringing them within 3 feet of the station.

This happens, at the least, 2 times a week. The base station is well within range of the cameras.

Battery life is horrible, with new batteries lasting only a month. I even went and bought the rechargeable batteries, and they don't last very long at all. A week, if I'm lucky.

Is there anything I can do to stop the cameras from CONSTANTLY losing connection, or am I better off to just toss them into the trash?

[steve_t]

I'd take them back to where you got them from and exchange them. They have a 1 year warranty and surely you wouldn't change batteries once a week or tolerate having to do a battery pull reset twice a week for over a year so you should still be within the warranty period

[gnarkilljboy]

The first set I purchased, I returned, because of the battery issue, but they didn't have anything in stick, so I waited a month or do, and bought a new set of cameras.

It has been over a year since I bought them.

[JamesC]

gnarkilljboy,

The symptoms you describe all point to a connection issue that could be caused by interference or range. If the camera is struggling to maintain a connection with the base station, this can cause the camera to drop offline and cause increased battery drain.

You might try relocating your base station, away from other wireless devices as much as possible and see if you still get the same behavior.

JamesC

[Bill7337]

I have been having same issue for many weeks now and am absolutely disgusted.  I have 4 cameras and two keep disconnecting or not connecting at all.  I have already relocated the base station and there is absolutley no interference from any other source.  The cameras would connect and then disconnect.  Two of the cameras have maintained the connection but goes through batteries every two days.  I have several sets of rechargeable batteries ranging from 650 mah (which you recommend) to 2000 mah.  Makes no difference even set on the lowest battery consumption settings.  I could have had a profession wired system installed for less than what I have invested in your system.  

[JamesC]

Bill7337,

Battery drain and frequent disconnections suggest interference or poor signal strength due to range. How far away from the base station are your cameras? What sources of WiFi are nearby that could be causing interference? Are there any physical obstructions between the cameras and the base (walls, etc.)?

JamesC

[Bill7337]

JamesC

Thank you for your response to my issue.  As mentioned in my original post there are no obstructions or any interference between the cameras and the base.  I have since rebooted everything and only one of my four cameras work properly.  The other three will not connect with the base.  Lots of money gone to waste on this system.  There is absolutely no reason for the issues I have.  I cannot find a solution to this problem as it seemed to develop out of the blue.  Discussed with the whole system.  

[gnarkilljboy]

I have nothing blocking my router and base, (they are side by side). I recharged the battery on both my cameras on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I put one camera at the front if my house, and one at the back. Both are probably 10-15 feet from the base. The one with the least amount of activity, had drained half of the battery within the first day. Both disconnected shortly after midnight, on the Friday morning.

With the amount of batteries I have gone through, plus the cost of the system and rechargeable batteries and charger, I could have bought an 8 camera hard wires security system from Costco!

[Llewxam]

I am having the exact problem.  

I keep replacing batteries.  About 30 minutes after syncing  (two of five cameras) two cameras repeatedly disconnect and battery charge level is low (measured with meter).

After reading suggestions....it is not distance (they are adjacent) and it's not signal to from my router (wifi is too strong and arlo is prioritized - again mesured) and Its not competition from other devices. I recenlty bought a new arlo base (that did solve connection issues I was having -  BTW priced resonably too).

Arlo has been a good product for me but I am beginning to wonder, when considering base problems I once had and now this, whether this is just a matter of planned obsolescence or technology has just passed by...which seems screwy because my system is not that old (two years). And I wonder, when considering long term value and dollars, whether a hard wired system is considralby better and headache free?  

Has anyone experienced something similar and solved the problem I have desribed?

thanks

[Rickhid]

After about 2 years of working properly with little issues., my arlo appears to be on the fritz. The camera keeps disconnecting from the base and the batteries drain quickly. Is there a patch or update that can correct this?

[DaveWick]

I'll be a me-too for this topic.

I came here because one of my four cameras has all of a sudden decided to disconnect after only a few minutes of being online. Usually, popping the battery cover off and on again brings the camera back ... for a little while. Then, repeat.

[jguerdat]

Restart the base. Verify that all your firmware is up to date. if still an issue, it could be some new 2.4GHz interference near the base (since all cameras seem to be having the issue). Repositioning the base may help. When the cameras drop, what are the base LEDs showing?

A worst case possibility would be to remove all devices from Settings, My Devices and start fresh.

[DPanattoni]

I'll also Me-Too this thread. I have had 5 cameras for a year and a half, and about a month ago, I cannot keep 3 of the cameras online. They'll stay online for only 1-2 days before disconnecting. When I re-sync them, often times the batteries are dead. Replacing the batteries does not solve the problem. 

[JamesC]

DPanattoni,

This could be due to poor signal strength or WiFi interference. Consider relocating your base station and/or cameras (avoiding physical obstacles and other WiFi devices) so that they are closer together and test to see if you get the same results.

JamesC

[Rickhid]

My Arlo worked fine for 2 years. Now all of a sudden it disconnects and drains batteries really fast. I think it is just shot. I will look at getting a new camera. The base I think is still good. If it fails in 2 years I will throw the whole thing out and go with another solution.

[Dukeofdelish]

Same issue here. I have five cameras and two keep disconnecting and draining the batteries. They are the two closest to the base station. I love the Arlo system when it works, but this failure rate is NOT good!

[jguerdat]

Have you swapped cameras around to see if it's th cameras or the locations?

[DPanattoni]

Yes. Problem follows the cameras.

So far, with the firmware upgrade last Friday, I haven't had a disconnect yet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Dukeofdelish]

Yes I have, and the problem is the camera.

[rjwalters55]

My cameras start disconnecting after they are a year old. The only way I can fix the problem is buying a new camera and replacing the camera that keeps disconnecting, with a ten camera setup that gets real expensive buying 10 new cameras a year. But this is the only way I can get stable cameras.. Also battery life under 20 degrees Fahrenheit is poor at best.

[jguerdat]

There are lots of possibilities for why your caameras are disconnecting. If all of them are doing tis, I'd tend to suspect either something near the base interfering with the signal or the bse itself. It might be worth removing all devices from Settings, My Devices and start fresh.

My original wireless cameras' cold battery life is reduced but not by what you seem to be suggesting. Again, it may be something about the signal quality thats causing both the offline as well as the short battery life.

[rjwalters55]

Evidently you did not fully read my post, because replacing the out of warranty flaky camera with a brand new camera is the only way I can fix the problem. I have tried everything you are suggesting and it is a waste of my time. The cameras that are outside and furthest away from the base station work the best, I have a brick house so the signal is significantly reduced to the outdoor cameras.

Battery life is fine above 32 degrees, but the colder it gets the worse it gets.

I have decided not to replace anymore cameras, I have spent too much money on Arlo the last 2+ years. When all the cameras go flaky or stop working, I will shut down my base stations.

[Rickhid]

Yes, the issue has nothing to do with interference. Mine worked fine for 2 years. There were no changes to the network or camera location during this time. I reset the camera (including removing then adding back to network) that didn’t work,, checked the firmware it’s current. The issue is the the camera has stopped working properly. Good thing I only have 1 camera. I will look closely at another solution. As I’m disappointed with Arlo.

[gnarkilljboy]

After finally trying everything that is suggested in the support, talking to support, and listening to suggestions from other users, I've decided to take my bundle of arlo cameras, as well as the base station, and shoot them with my pellet guns, because they are absolutely worthless!

[drauden44]

This is disappointing.  I have 9 camera's and the same 3 keep failing within an hour of  replacing their batteries.  I have no doubt they are shot and I've totally screwed myself by investing this much in such a crap system.  Luckily I bought a lot at Costco so I'll be returning as much as possible ASAP.